the democratic leader of the senate says getting reform bill passed by the august recess cannot be done. we're live at the white house with reaction. sounds like something right out of the soso pranoes. the stunning arrests including mayors, lawmakers and religious leaders, it was even a plot to sell human organs. all the latest developments in that. talk radio and the blogs and water coolers around the country, the arrest of henry lewis gates at his own home. he was mistaken for a burglar. gates ended up in handcuffs. at his news conference wednesday night he says the police acted "stupidly." he softened his tone but stood by his comments. >> i'm surprised by the controversy surrounding my statement because i think it was a pretty straight forward

commentary that you probably don't need to handcuff a middle-aged man, who uses a cane, who is in his own home. i think it doesn't make sense with all the problems that we have out there to arrest a guy in his own home, if he's not causing a serious disturbance. from what i can tell, the sergeant who was involved is an outstanding police officer o, but my suspicion is that it probably would have been better if cooler heads would have prevailed. >> don lemons in boston, you had a charns to speak with the cambridge police commissioner, robert haas, what does he have to say about it thrust into the spotlight over the controversy? >> everyone is talking about it, as you said, this is a water cooler talk on the cover of "usa today" today. the professor, the police officer and the president. when i spoke with him exclusively yesterday after he announced he is going to

establish some sort of panel, a review panel to look at this he said he was very disappointed by the president's remarks and he feels the president not only singled out the sergeant and the police officers here in boston, but police officers around the country. take a listen to part of what he said. >> so, commissioner, when you look at this in the paper and you see the president here and it says obama scolds cambridge police, what do you think of that? >> very proud of its diversity within its community and how hard we worked over the years to build a strong, solid relationship with the community and i have to tell you the officers take that very personally and basically feel hurt by that comment. we truly are trying to do the best service we can for the community and sometimes we make mistakes, we're human, but we also make mistakes when we move on. >> now, other officers say that it is an insult to the men and women in uniform who put their

lives on the line every day and that the president simply didn't have all the information before he made those comments. as you know, kiran, the police department dropped the whole thing. they said they simply wanted to move past it. i asked them, the police commissioner in my interview whether or not he thought that was some admission of guilt. take a listen. why did you drop all of it then? >> we basically were approached by professor gates' attorney and approaching whether professor gates wanted to put this behind him. >> some may look at that as an admission of wrongdoing. >> i don't view it that way at all. i just believe that we can't be distracted and that we have to move forward and we have to stay focused on what our mission is here in the city. >> now, what is interesting he said that professor gates' attorney said they thought it was the best way to move on and now we're hearing and from professor gates on our air that he is going to sue.

is that moving on? we're not exactly sure. we reached out to professor gates and his attorney and so far they have not responded to that. here's the interesting part, kiran, we are hearing that there is police tapes, radio tapes and they're supposed to come to light and that may shed more information on exactly what happened. can and according to the police department, that will help the officer. they believe that this will in some way solidify the officer's story that professor gates was acting out of control and that's why he was arrested. ciren? >> there are a lot of sides of the story, maybe the tapes will clear up some of it. don, we'll check in with you later in the show, as well. thanks for that exclusive great to get the perspective of the commission, as well. heres rar litta little bit of w you guys are saying. >> i think the professor from harvard was absolutely right and the mayor from cambridge

absolutely wrong. no need to sit down with the parties and this is rogue cop that took the advantage and the opportunity to be rogue. >> henry lewis gates, the professor atharvard, is using this as a race issue himself. when somebody is seen going into a house, how does the policeman know that's his house? >> we want to hear more from you. call 877-my-amfix. and we're on twitter. president obama dealing with a dose of political reality in his campaign-style push to get through recess. harry reid says there will be no vote by the president's deadline. >> i think that it's better to have a product that is one that's based on quality and thoughtfulness rather than

trying to jam something through, but we're going to do it. he'll come back in the fall. >> i have no problem, if i think people are really working through these difficult issues, in making sure that we get it right. but i don't want to delay just because of politics. and i have to tell you, sometimes delays in washington occur because people just don't want to do anything that they think might be controversial. >> the president will meet again with reed this morning about the overhaul. she is on the telephone with us this morning. the only thing you can say what is going on this morni morning. >> it is a disappointment. despite the fact that the president says this is okay, they're going to keep pushing and keep talking and set the

deadline of august before the recess, clearly, that is not happening any more. the president is going to meet, once again, with harry reid, as well as matt baucus and they're two players in moving this along or slowing it down. he wants to assess where congress is on this and what kind of compromise is on the table and what needs to be done. we'll see some differences and some changes here. the president will continue to go out and speak directly to the american people, but as we saw yesterday, and as well as the press conference, he'll speak in ordinary, plain language here. use examples to show american people why this impact them and this is beyond washington back and forth and that this process goes on, but that this is a way that he'll be able to get folks on his side. we now know that the country is pretty much divided on whether or not this is a good idea and, so, he's going to be speaking and using those kind of examples. he also, as well, john, is going

to be talking about those who have health care insurance. there has been discussion about the 46 million or so who do not and how to get them onboard and a lot of people who have health care insurance and afraid of losing it and afraid that their taxes are going to go up and that they're going to be paying more and those are the kind of things the president needs to address, as well. that's the kind of thing that democrats brought to the president and said they're concerned about. >> this issue of how to pay for it is a huge one and among blue dog democrats in the house, as well. we'll talk to one coming up in the next hour. is the white house worried, suzanne, if this thing gets slow walked into september, october that maybe it will just kind of die? >> yes, yes. there is definitely a push to make this happen sooner as opposed to later. there will be much less of an appetite of this for lawmakers the closer we get to the mid-term election and professional mid-term elections. while the president says this is not political, he is rushed

because he gets letters on his desk every day saying how people are suffering and that may all be true, but there is very little chance that they see this happening next year. >> suzanne malveaux from the white house this morning, thank you. we'll get that technical problem fixed and see you smiling face next hour. >> we can go to baghdad, kenya, and we have a problem down the street. chronic signal trouble may have led to that deadly crash in washington's metro system last month. federal safety investigators say a the system that detects a train on the tracks has been misfunctioning for the last 18 months. a metro train slammed into another that was stopped on the tracks near the maryland state line. a good day for millions of american workers, not just because it's friday, they are also getting a raise. the federal minimum wage jumps from 6. $55 to $7.25 an hour today.

the last of three minimum wage increases that were approved back in 2007. some economists are concerned about the impact on small businesses who may be forced to lay off the same workers that the pay hike was meant to help. the running of the bulls, but on wall street. the dow shooting past the 9,000 mark for the first time since january. the investor excitement was driven in part by a third straight monthly increase in home sales and also some stronger than expected earnings reports. baseball fans are buzzing this morning about a historic performance in chicago. mark buehrle throwing a perfect game against the tampa bay rays. his pitching gem was preserved by another master piece. >> check out duane wise, there you go, climbing the wall to turn a home run into an out. the ball popped out of his glove a little bit and then grabbed it again with his bare hand. see that. well, the perfect game is the first, by the way, since 2004. 18th in major league history.

buehrle is already in the record books for throwing a no-hitter two years ago. >> he got a congradlatory phone call from the white sox first fan, he should probably buy his center fielder a big steak dinner for saving the game for him. aaron andrews seems like a rising star at espn, 31 years old, apparently the victim of a peeping tom at a hotel room. >> she was secretly videotaped naked in her hotel room. she's fighting back and some are asking, what's going on here? asking, what's going on here? carol 11 minutes past the hour. long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid.

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a ban on public gatherings has been in place since last month, but that does not mean that the movement has disappeared. new clashes between security forces and protesters. joining me now is roger cone, a columnist for "the new york times." one of the last reporters to leave iran. you stayed after your permission ran out. i'm wondering why and what did you see in the time that you were still there? >> my time to report was rescinded, but the streets were so extraordinary with these thousands and even millions of kids out there protesting what they were convinced was a fraudulent election and i thought it was my responsibility to stay as long as possible and i stayed until the last moment of my visa which is much longer than most people. >> what did you see? >> i saw plain-clothed guys that were given helmets and clubs by the state and they were beating

women in front of me and these are sights that i will never forget. when you see a woman being beat by some guy of the license of the state and she goes back into the fray because she believes so greatly in greater freedom for the country. these are images that you don't forget. >> we have seen some images coming out of iran and these are fairly recent, but certainly not same volume that we saw a number of weeks ago. but at the same time, does there appear to be increasing defiance of the supreme leader and the president ahmadinejad, who i guess will be inaugurated next month. >> i think the anger is such, john, that it's not dissipating. people really believed in this election. they believed islamic republic. they believe the public there bhent something. this campaign was very open and suddenly, this is what made the whole thing there so surreal, in the night of june 12 to 13 this festival turned into and there

were security forces everywhere beating people and i don't think the anger will disappear quickly. president ahmadinejad has a pretty powerful force behind him and pretty efebtive in spreading fear and that's why we see fewer people in the streets than before. religious, political, then there have been at any time since the revolution in 1979. >> you had a recent column that some of these people mousavi upset that their country is looking like a joke to the world. what sort of country invites hundreds of journalists to witness an election to only throw the ball out and what invokes ethics and religious democracy as it allows plain-clothes thugs to beat women? part of the resistance to the leadership now. here is a country with a rich

history, as you pointed out in your column, it's not a third world country, yet it appears so in the eyes of the world. >> iranians are very proud people and i think when they see their country being needlessly made a fool of as they see with president ahmadinejad, there's a anger there. very sophisticated people. 65% of iranians are under 35, john. they're online, they're connected. one of the major changes and it will be important going forward is that the image of iran has changed. you say iran to an american two months ago and probably the image maybe with his finger on a nuclear button and now you say iran and you get the image of the young women whose murder was captured on film on video that went viral. now you have youtube and madonna dedicating songs to iran. you wouldn't have had that two months ago. i think that changes the framework going forward and, of course, huge problems that the obama administration confronts

with iranian nuclear program and how, if at all, to engage with iran which was, of course, the president's original rejected. >> the story far from over and in some ways just starting. roger cohen, great to see you. thank you. kiran? just ahead, stunning new details about an american who pleaded guilty to aiding al qaeda. nic robertson has uncovered exclusive new information, was this man planning a suicide attack? attack? it's 18 minutes after the hour. r all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid.

welcome back to the most news in the morning. stunning new details about an american who pleaded guilty to aiding al qaeda. yesterday we told you about 26-year-old brian and he gave terrorist information about the new york transit system and also admitted being part of an attack on a u.s. military base in afghanist afghanistan. cnn learned that he was ready to perform suicide bombing mission for al qaeda. nic robertson has our exclusive report and he joins us on the phone this morning in brussels,

belgium. good morning, nic. >> good morning, kiran. well, the details that we learned that he gave to belgian investigators because they're investigating a belgian terror cell that he met while at al qaeda training camps in pakistan. the accounts to him he volunteered and he told them to become a suicide bomber for al qaeda and al qaeda's leaders told him they need more religious training and then they told him that he needed more training. the indications there that al qaeda had other plans for him to turn him into a suicide bomber and he described to them how he attacked a u.s. military base in afghanistan from across the border and he told them how he joined up and became a full member of al qaeda. so what this really revealed is the first detailed look inside modern al qaeda in the past few

years. and it reveals new tactics and he was getting sophisticated training, training was being given on breaking and entering, the kidnapping for assassinations and new tactics for al qaeda. there were discussions of attacks on mass transit systems in europe and attacks on football matches inside europe and soccer matches inside europe. he also gave detailed accounts to the investigators of many of the people that he met, many of the alleged terror cells that he met and just today, right now, his information is so vital to belgium prosecutors that the chief magistrate here has been briefing defense lawyers defending that alleged belgian terror cell that he met in pakistan. kiran? >> he is giving vital information, as you said, to prosecutors, hopefully giving them an inside look on the new tactics of al qaeda and nic robertson for us in brussels,

belgi belgium, where that investigation is still under way. it's friday and you know what that means. time for the wing nut of the week. john joins us to tell us who get the prize this week. stay tuned for that. it's 24 minutes after the hour.

welcome back to the most news in the morning. erin andrews is fighting back after someone secretly videotaped her naked in her hotel room. >> her and the sports net rrk as well as any organization that

show this video. some question whether it's just one more perverted peeping tom. good morning, carol. >> good morning, it's time for just saying. we want to know what you think about this story. fascinating to sit back and take in reaction to a horrific invasion of privacy but nude pictures takeben of erin andrews are more than that. many women call it sexual assault, even a form of rape and plenty of men who call it that, too. some of whom blame themselves for what happened. just saying, who is to blame for what happened to erin andrews. >> all right, guys, thank you so much. >> if you didn't know who erin andrews was, you do now. everyone is talking about an uninvited videotaping of the espn reporter. >> she was the reporter taped by a peeping tom in her hotel room. >> no idea there's a perv at the door.

>> nude video ended up on the internet. >> reporter: andrews' attorney is threatening legal action if anyone continues to post the videos online but a french website persists. andrews, it seems, lost control over who has the rights to her body. while her attorney wants whoever took the pictures to be criminally prosecuted, others say many more are guilty. just saying. who is to blame? >> do you think we're all complicit in a culture that objectifies women that is interesting to seeing videos of women who don't know they're being filmed? >> reporter: if you think people aren't interested in that kind of thing searches on erin andrews have gone up 5,000% in the last five days. media watch isn't surprised. it says for years there has been a national stalking of andrews online by those who turned her into a body that exists for leering at. and inadvertent espn shot of andrews' behind that had a million hits on youtube.

while espn calls andrews one of the premier sports reporters in the business, some say it stoked the fire, too, by playing up andrews' looks and some of those she interviewed, didn't help either. and then there was this at a college football game. by many accounts andrews has dealt good naturedly and while andrews is the victim here, it is time that she push back. >> play to the victim of the mom and dad and 12-year-old on the couch, don't play to the frat house. make sure those whackoes don't interfere in my life. >> a blogger put it this way, was i ever over the line with coach pearl when he hugged her? was espn when they realized that attractive women on the sideline

helped ratings? did i contribute to this awful thing that happened? did all of us? i don't think so, but if i ran into her on the streets today, i'm not sure i could look her in the eye. i'm not sure anybody could." who is responsible for what happened to erin andrews. i'd love to hear your comments on this because it's such a complicated story and, you know, whoever took those pictures, john and kiran, still out there somewhere. >> and, you know, kudos to you for not showing those pictures in this piece. when you talk about them being spread arnd the internet, some of the local newspapers here in new york and that's just perpetuating it, too. >> on some television networks, too. just appalling. >> espn banned new york post staffers from appearing on their program because their paper ran those pictures. i would like to hear what you have to say about it. carol, thanks.

>> sure. half past the hour now and checking our top stories. police in jakarta, indonesia, says a third bomb was set to go off before two others. the twin blasts killed nine people, including at least two presumed suicide bombers. a bomb discovered in an 18th floor room at the marriott was timed and detonate but malfunctioned. court documents are revealing michael jackson's personal physician is the focus of a manslaughter investigation in jackson's death. examples of a weight loss drug and also a muscle relaxant and these are the items taken from the clinic. murray was with jackson when he died. angelina jolie is in iraq trying to bring attention to the thousands of iraqi displaced by violence. she spoke with cnn while visiting a settlement on the outskirts of baghdad. >> this region of the world, the stability of this region is important to all of us.

there are still 3 million people displaced innocent families. we have still many young men and women from our country who are fighting every day. there are many men and women from all countries who have lost their lives and this is a time to try to make some positive change. and so we have to -- this is, in working in cambodia and other areas of the world that i have worked in, so often you find that these countries years on have all these little problems because it was this moment that wasn't given enough attention and this moment that we didn't have enough support and they didn't have the right education and so, so this is the moment. >> this is angelina jolie's third visit to iraq, by the way, as the united nations good will ambassador. now to politics in our segment, wingnuts of the week. every friday john avalon calls out someone on the right and the

left who he says has taken political name calling to the extreme. he is author of "independent nation" and joins us this morning with new additions to his ring of dishonor. who did you select as this week's wingnut? >> busy week on the wingnut front. i went with eric ericsson, better known for being the managing editor of redstate.com and this week i noticed that he called former president jimmy carter one of the worst, the history's greatest monster is the quote. let's look at his full quote. does anybody really care, he wrote, that history's greatest monster the man who laid hands on, endorsed and applauded many of the most heinous regimes of the past part of the 20th century has left the southern baptist church? carter wants to be free and live as he wants to, not as god wants

him to. >> he felt the southern baptist convention was not being fair to women. >> right. actually too, make the story even more sort of belated blog, it was nine years ago that jimmy carter had left the church, but he had reiterated his departure in an op-ed piece for the observer. >> how influential is the red state blog and we heard stuff like this before. >> red state is a very conservative blog. i check it out, it's definitely part of the conversation on the right, but this statement went well over the line. this is somebody who has no sense of historic perspective. when you talk about history's greatest monitors i think hitler, stalin and pretty sure jimmy carter is not on the top ten. >> your wingnut on the left. >> epic build of politically incorrect awkwaoawkward theater senator barbara boxer. she was holding a hearing this week, well, let her speak for herself. let's listen. >> john grant who is the ceo of

100 black men of atlanta -- >> madame chair, that is condescending to me. you're trying to put up some other black group against me. >> if this gentleman, if this gentleman were here, he would be proud that he was being quoted. >> he should have been invited. >> just as he would be proud. >> it is condescending to me. >> just so you know, he would be proud that you are here. he's proud, i'm sure, that i'm quoting him. >> all that is condescending. i like it, it's racial. >> this exchange quickly circulated on the internet. a lot of hits on youtube, as well. what is going on here that you gave her the wingnut from the left? >> she revealed a liberal condescension especially on issues of race. one of the more polarizing figures. a great liberal senator from california, but a polarizing figure in the senate and this really, for a lot of people, has

pulled the veil back and, boy, did she get called on it. >> the exchange not only hitting a nerve for people, but politico did an article and democrats being concerned. for democratic staffers the incidents underscored the danger of having an outspoken liberal in charge of making the kind of compromises needed and this vital committee she needed, what is the long-term impact for senator boxer? >> the long-term impact, she reinforces a lot of the stereotypes of the democratic party, which is precisely what you don't want when you're trying to move legislation forward. this exchange, i think, symbolizes a lot of her associations with the left and also underscored how much growing we have to do on all sides before we get to that place where people are judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. >> what is the lesson, is there a common thread in the wingnuts this week? >> the lesson is, get a sense of perspective, people. when you're writing about a

foreign president of the united states, he's not one of history's greatest monsteres. don't pair them with other members of his race. racial characteristics and political persuasions, not the same thing. >> enjoy all your comments on this and we also love when people write in, they give us some ideas for things they heard throughout the week that may qualify. >> have a conversation. >> john avalon, great to see you, cnn.com/amfix if you want to check out more of john and his wingnut selections and also weigh in on our blog. mayors arrested, state legislatures, rabbis, money launderin laundering, organs for sale. what's going on? t mobile broadb. 31 are streaming a sales conference from the road. eight are wearing bathrobes. two... less. 154 people are tracking shipments on a train. 33 are i.m.'ing on a ferry. and 1300 are secretly checking email on vacation.

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welcome back to the most news in the morning. dirty politics leading to the arrest of more than four dozen people in new jersey. mayors of two cities, state legislatures and even rabbis and even for new jersey, a state with a long history of corruption, the list of charges is staggering. ranging from money laundering to selling organs to perhaps worst

of all, fake gucci handbags. my goodness, just everything. deborah feyerick following the story for us. >> have they no shame, john. fake gucci handbags. nothing is staggering. apparently paying people $10,000 and turning around and selling those organs for $160,000, but, i digress. the feds caught a number of people who allegedly had no problem breaking the law. it began as an investigation into international money laundering allegedly by a hand full of prominent new jersey allies and turn under to a far-reaching probe of corruption in new jersey as nearly 30 politicians and public officials, democrats and republicans were rounded up in what prosecutors called the largest sweep of its kind. >> this case is not about politics, certainly not about religion. it is about crime, corruption, it is about arrogance, it is

about a shocking betrayal of the public trust. >> reporter: the two cases are linked by a single cooperating witness posing as a real estate developer. but, in fact, work rg for the government says new jersey's top prosecutor. >> i don't donate, i invest in meetings in parking lots, in restaurants, diners, offices, basement boiler rooms and bathrooms. and the politicians put themselves up for sale. >> reporter: mayors, deputy mayors, councilmen brazenly took inenvelopes stuffed with thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for political favors. one of the most damaging statements made, hoboken mayor who allegedly took $25,000 in bribes telling the phony developer he would become a priority while "the people who against us the whole way, they get ground into powder."

ed kareer has been working the case for ten years. >> it is not only pervasive but has become -- >> reporter: jon corzine criticized the corruption while asking one of his staff to step down after he was investigated, but not charged. >> this morning i ask for the rest of the nation, commission has agreed to resign. >> reporter: prosecutors say the same cooperating witness paying bribes had earlier infiltrated the money laundering operation. the rabbis getting fees as much as 10% to launder tens of millions of dollars through their religious organizations. >> oh, my goodness. a public official, this guy from hoboken that took $25,000 bribe and throw away his political career for 25 grand. >> only been in office for 25 weeks. that was a run-off election and shortest the mayoral run in

history. >> just never fails to surprise the garden state, does it? >> never. you have to love jersey. >> thanks so much. kiran? >> thanks, i guess. here's a quick check of the am rundown. cnn is on the trail tracking the stimulus. where your tax dollars and all of our tax dollars are going. president obama sparked a debate on race relations when he weighed in on what happened in cambridge saying that police acted stupidly when they arrested harvard professor henry gates. we'll find out if the president is standing by his words today and also more fallout and reaction from what happened. millions of workers are getting a raise today because the federal minimum wage jumped $7.25, but give on the way the economy is right now, does that actually translate into more money. we'll find out, christine romans tracking that for us. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid.

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good morning, new orleans, where it looks like an interesting sort of day. clear and 70 later on today and storms and a high of 92. i was there last weekend and it was so steamy. playing tennis in the mid-day heat like a crazy person. >> that sounds fun. what did you have a down coat on at the same time? >> a parka.

the city of new orleans. give tribute to the guy who wrote that, steve goodman. he was riding on a train between illinois and new orleans, he and his wife were going to see grandma and his wife fell asleep and he pulled out a pen and wrote those lyrics. meanwhile, rob marciano is tracking all this crazy weather for us. we're on par, back-to-back months where we're top to ten in terms of cold temperatures now. june and now july. >> yesterday we pointed out a statistic for new york. only above 85 one time in the last two months. >> where's summer? >> you did it once in may. try to warm things up. you'll get some heat before the day is done. rainfall heading into the northeast. check out some of the numbers yesterday. this is eastern new york and all across long island. vacationing in the hamptons, that will put a damper on things and providence, rhode island, seeing 2.25. international rain, this is japan where they had a tremendous amount of rain here.

a mud slide that killed eight people and nine missing and about 2,300 homes have been flooded with that. we don't expect that kind of rainfall across the northeast, but they're getting hit pretty hard right now, especially in the boston area and heavy wind, winds gusting at the airport at 37 miles per hour and we're looking at potentially seeing some rain delays there, but the rain should be moving out, i think later on this afternoon. north carolina getting hit with heavy thunderstorms that moment. by the way, some rip sides and that's a problem out there if you're vacationing on the outer banks, be aware of that. thunderstorms about to head through the western great lakes today if you're doing some travel, here's a look at where we expect to see some delays. rain, low clouds and wind certainly this morning and wind and afternoon and san francisco and los angeles looking for potentially delays. it is friday on a summer weekend happy to say that, back to you guys in new york. >> anywhere that looks like a tropical storm, rob? >> what's cooking up through the northeast is somewhat of a

tropical system, not a tropical storm but tropical moisture and that's why folks in eastern new england are seeing the heavy rainfall and right now things are fairly quiet. >> rob, thanks. now, ten minutes to the top of the hour.

welcome back to the most news in the morning. investigators may try to build a manslaughter case against michael jackson's personal doctor, dr. con rad murray. what police found when they

raided dr. murray's office. randi kaye is following that for us. >> john, kiran, two search warrants filed in houston related to conratd murray. we got these from our affiliate there. one was served on his medical clinic and the other on a storage clinic he has in the houston area. the one at the clinic took more than two hours. let me give you an idea of some things they found at the clinic, roll dex card with information which means they are trying to track if drugs were fedexed out of the state and who they were sent to and they also took personal e-mails and fax cover sheets and some drugs, including one vial of a weight loss drug and one vial of a drug used to reduce anxiety and to sleep. the search warrant says detectives seized irs tuments and a suspension notice from

doctor's hospital, two hard drives and a texas public safety and correspondents addressed the same person the e-mails that they took from the clinic were addressed to. what all this means in terms of zeroing in on dr. murray is unclear, all we know is that authorities are looking for evidence related to manslaughter and they're looking closely at dr. murray and they may interview him a third time as early as next week. also, i talked with dick gregory, they did "the whiz" together decades ago. he was with him during the second child molestation trial and jackson's parents called him and said he wasn't well, could he help. he went back to neverland with jackson and jackson hugged him and said "please don't leave me. they're trying to kill me." gregory asked jackson the last time he ate because he didn't look well and he said, they're trying to poison me. he said jackson told him

"they're trying to kill me." he never said who he thought was trying to kill him or why but this offers insight into jackson's mental state and how desperate he was, at that time, for help. john, kiran, back to you. >> randi kaye with the latest for us on that. we will have more at 8:30 eastern time we'll speak with jackson's former nurse. she appeared on our show several weeks ago and was the first one to raise the possibility of that highly potent sedative. 54 minutes past the hour.

if we don't act, medical bills will wipe out their savings. if we don't act, she'll be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition. and he won't get the chemotherapy he needs. if we don't act, health care costs will rise 70%. and he'll have to cut benefits for his employees. but we can act. the president and congress have a plan to lower your costs and stop denials for pre-existing conditions. it's time to act. etteall day long.

and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. welcome back to the most news in the morning. we have made it a top priority here at cnn where the stimulus money is hitting the streets and tracking down exactly where it goes and who it's helping. kate baldwin with us and one she found is surprising. welcome to new york. >> thank you.

you know the saying, an ounce of prevention goes a long way. sometimes the connection between stimulus money and jobs isn't so clear and in this case in california, it's based on an idea that helping the homeless can help the economy. >> right over here in the back. >> reporter: who's 70 years old has lived here in fresno tent city for 2 1/2 years. >> i get tired of sleeping on the ground because they steal myself. . >> reporter: he does odd jobs at a local business, but has battled drug addiction and hasn't been able to get back on his feet. >> it's been quite a while. >> reporter: until now. he is moving from tent city to temporary housing, courtesy of economic stimulus money from washington. the department of housing and urban development has awarded $1.2 billion to fresno and about 400 other communities across the country for homeless prevention and rapid rehousing. >> my phone rings constantly

with individuals asking for assistance. >> reporter: greg barfield says while the stimulus money doesn't arrive until october, with unemployment above 15%, they can't wait. knowing more money is on the way, lets them spend more now and get more homeless people off the street. >> what we provided is a step up. it's a first step up and from the dirt into a house. and in that, we've wrapped case management and other services around the individual. >> reporter: but is that the point? we took the questions straight to mercedes marquez, hud's assistant secretary for community planning and development. >> the stimulus is about jobs, jobs, jobs. how does stimulus money going towards homeless prevention create jobs? >> when you stabilize someone and when you create a job, it is that money that they put back into the economy that creates further stimulus and it stops the bleeding from continuing. >> reporter: the stimulus money can be used for short-term

rental assistance and help pay security deposits, among other things. while his job prospects are uncertain, he sees this as the best chance he's had in years. >> i thank you all. the only thing i can do now is show the end results and i won't fail. >> reporter: but is this an effective use of stimulus money? that's the big question. he is only getting four months rent and he acknowledges he just doesn't know what is ahead for him. the exact cost and payoff of this stimulus money is hard it to measure. city budget leaders are still budgeting but of the $1 million they have, they're targeting 200 people to start. they say it's still early but they had to move ahead because they had to get these people off the streets. >> no question about that. but i didn't exactly hear a question to your answer when you

asked the deputy secretary how this helps to stimulate the economy. >> she did say, admittedly, a small number of jobs but she says that homeless prevention is one aspect of what hud's job is. there is projects and infrastructure that they also oversee. $13.6 billion that they're overseeing of stimulus dollars. this is part of the process and it's a good thing and we need to do it. >> interesting to follow him and see where he is. heart-felt story. four months down the road, was that, as you said, wrapping it around a case enough with those other services. >> we're keeping tabs on him. >> you're up here with another stimulus story. >> we're following the money. so great to see you, thanks. that brings us to the top of the hour at 7:00 eastern on this friday, july 24th. thank you for being with us. i'm john roberts. >> i'm kiran chetry. first of all, president obama softening his criticism of the police who arrested a prominent

black harvard professor. what the president says now about the racially charged incident and our exclusive interview with the cambridge police commissioner. president obama's health care timeline hits a major speed bump. getting a reform bill passed by the august recess cannot be done. we're live at the white house this morning with details. well, it's friday and pay day for many and as of today minimum wage goes up again. the third increase in three years between 3 million and 5 million people will be affected by the increase, but what could it mean for businesses that are already struggling? president obama's push on health care being sidelined by the war of words over the arrest of noted black scholar henry lewis gates jr. a battle the president jumped in to with both feet during wednesday night's press conference. gates was mistaken for a burglar and ended up in handcuffs in his own house. and police say he accused the arresting officer of racism. the police commissioner and cambridge, massachusetts, said

his force is deeply pained after his president obama said his officers "acted stupidly." the president talking to abc news, still cautiously sticking by his words. >> i'm surprised by the controversy surrounding my statement because i think it was a pretty straight forward commentary that you probably don't need to handcuff a guy, a middle-aged man who uses a cane who is in his own home. i think it doesn't make sense with all the problems that we have out there to arrest a guy in his own home if he's not causing a serious disturbance. from what i can tell, the sergeant who was involved is an outostanding police officer, but my suspicion is is probably it would have been better if cooler heads prevailed. >> for a side of the story you'll only see here on cnn, let's bring in don lemon live from boston this morning. he sat down exclusively with the cambridge police officer and

he's pretty upset by this whole episode. >> he is upset and the entire force is upset as you alluded to earlier, john morale is down here and many officers here believe that the president not only singled out the officer, they believe that calling him stupid, you know the president said that the police acted stupidly, not only singled out the officer and the entire police force and officers around the country. so, they're pretty upset by it and they feel they are owed an apology. john, as you said, i sat down exclusively or talked one-on-one exclusively about the president's remarks and about his force here in cambridge. take a listen. so, commissioner, when you look at this in the paper and you see the president here and it says obama scolds cambridge police, what do you think of that? >> i think you need to understand about this police department and community is it's very proud of its diversity within its community and how hard we worked to build a strong, solid relationship with the department and the community and i have to tell you that the

officers take that very personally and feel very hurt by that comment. we truly are trying to do the best service we can for the community and sometimes we make mistakes, we're human. we learn from those mistakes and we learn on. >> now, people here in the police department thought that this would all die down after the charges were dropped and the whole thing was put aside, they feel. until the president's remarks and they feel that that just amped up, again. but after it was dropped, the big question is, why did they do it? if they did nothing wrong, then why did they do it? i posed that question, john too, the police commission. why did you drop all of it then? >> we basically were approached by professor gates' attorney and representing to us professor gates wanted to put this behind him and i felt it was the appropriate thing to do. >> some may look at that as an admission of wrongdoing or something went wrong during the whole process. >> i don't view it that way at all, i just believe that we

can't be detracted and we have to move for ward and stay focused on what our mission is here in the city. sergeant crowley a well-respected member of the police department here. john, he was hand picked by a former commissioner who happens to be an african-american, he is retired now and lived in chicago. ronnie watson hand picked him to teach racial profiling tactics and ways not to racially profile people at the academy. so, it's very interesting that this hapened and also, as i said, this is being amped up today at noon, the officer's union, the association of superior officers here holding a press conference where this sergeant is expected to talk and release a statement. they're very upset by all of this here. so t goes on and as one person said, they believe that gates by coming out and speaking and saying he's going to sue, they believe he's adding fuel to the fire rather than trying to

tempthis down and have a conversation, john. >> one thing we learned about this sergeant is back in 1993 when reggie lewis dropped dead on the floor, the boston celtics training camp, he was a paramedic at that time and he tried to recesuscitate reggie lewis. >> he jumped in to resuscitate reggie lewis and other stories about that. few other stories about this sergeant like that in the community about how he helped people and, really, how he has a diverse group of friends and how he is well liked on the force. so, it's very interesting when you have officer os, even officers of color speaking highly of this young man and then the other side of the story. what exactly went on in the home, we don't know. john, i have to tell you, they're considering releasing the 911 tape from the caller who called in the burglary and also considering releasing the radio traffic from the police department where it has been said that you can hear professor gates in the background and he seems to be unruly and out of control. we shall see. >> i read in the police report

that at one point sergeant crowley had to leave the kitchen where he was talking with gates and go outside because gates was speaking so loudly he couldn't efebtively use his radio. keep peeling back the layers of the security. don, thanks so much. good to see you. another developing story this morning, the sudden slow down on health care reform. the president gets hit with delay from the senate that he didn't want and this is what he said in a town hall in ohio yesterday about lawmakers saying they have to wait until after the august recess to try to take up the health care debate. >> i don't want to delay just because of politics. and i have to tell you, sometimes delays in washington occur because people just don't want to do anything that they think might be controversial. >> all right. well, our brianna keilar is live on capitol hill with the very latest. so, a lot of people said it was ambitious to get it done before

the august recess and the senate leaders saying it's not realistic right now. where do we stand right now, brianna? >> remember, kiran, initially president obama said that he wanted the house and the senate to vote on health care before they left for their august recess in a week or so, but president obama now saying he will accept a temporary delay as long as lawmakers are working towards consensus. really, he doesn't have too much of a choice, it seems, because the top democratic in the senate indicating yesterday that it is just not likely in the senate that they, at least, will have a vote. now that the senate finance committee and bipartisan agreement, members there trying to hash out an agreement. they've asked for more time. meantime, on the house side of things, there are also some delays. only it has to do with democrats sort of arguing with democrats. conservative democrats, the blue dogs have raised mysterious concerns about costs and how to pay for health care and they succeeded in delaying moving health care out of the it.

one key committee in the house, even though house speaker nancy pelosi still saying indicating that she is set there on a vote in the house before they go to august recess. as you can imagine, in the house this division between democrats is really right for the exploitation politically by republicans and they are seizing on this opportunity. they're actually doing so with a visual aid. you may remember that flow chart from the '90s about the clinton health care plan, it was pretty confusing looking and captured some of the confusion, some would say, actually created some confusion. well, the gimmick is back. this is it right here. republicans have been shuttling this actual poster right here out on the house floor. this is what they say the democrats, the house democrats health plan will look like. take a listen to what they said recently on the house floor. >> this is what it looks like. now if anybody thinks that all of this bureaucracy needs to fix our health care system, i would

polightly disagree. >> this is the organizational chart of the health care plan the democrats are proposing. >> we're talking about a health care system that's going to have the good heart of the irs and the efficiency of the postal system. you know, let's take a look at some of these different government agencies and how much do we -- do we really want to trust them with our personal health care? >> republicans say under the democrats' plan, this would be you, this would be your doctor and you'd have to kind of go through a bunch of bureaucracies to really get your health care. this is the point they've been hammering home now for a week or so. but democrats say that's completely untrue and that this is an exaggeration that really what they're doing is streamlining the process so that you don't have to deal with the ins and outs of a health insurance company and you can go to one place to buy insurance, go to one place to get questions

answered and their retort actually is to put out their own chart. a representation of what they say is the republican, the house republican plan for health care, a whole lot of question marks, they say, because house republicans have not put out their own bill. so, it's really this battle of the charts here on capitol hill, kiran. >> all right, there you go. brianna keilar with the flow charts there. thanks so much. what did the poor post office do to get drag under to that mess? i have a letter, i mail it, two days later it gets there. >> they're losing a lot of money. that may have something to do with it. the new information on the train crash that killed nine and injured 70 in washington, d.c.s, last month. the train's signaling system was faulty for a year and a half before the collision. the deadliest crash in d.c. metro history. it may have led to the crash near the m near the maryland state line. sunday is the farewell

picnic taking place in fairbanks, alaska, for governor sarah palin as she officially steps down from office. she will prepare for the next stage of her career. minimum wages go up today. the third time in three years. could the increase cost more jobs? our christine romans is here to explain, coming right up. explain, coming right up. it's 12 minutes after the hour. r all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceitme breheetteall d. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways.

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welcome back to the most news in the morning. president obama wanted a vote on health care reform before august takes its recess. before any chance of getting a bill passed the president will need the support of fiscally conservative democrats in the house, the so-called blue dogs. right now he doesn't have it. let's bring in one of those blue dogs. congressman mike ross. what is the problem they have with the proposals making their way through congress right now? >> john, for about three months we've been indicating the current house bill doesn't go nearly far enough at containing costs. you know, there are two issues here when we talk about health care reform.

obviously, one issue is making sure that those who do not have insurance today have an affordable plan for them today. health care costs are growing at twice the rate of inflation and until we get health care costs growing at a rate somewhat closer to normal inflation, we can never balance the federal budget again nor can the employers continue to be able to afford to pay for insurance. we're seeing more of the cost shift and it will reach a point in not too distant future and this bill does not do enough to contain those costs. to get after the fundamental reform and changes that we need and how we deliver and pay for health care and, of course, our statement on that we have been saying for three months was recently backed up by the cbo director last week when he came out and said, in fact, that the current health bill does not go far enough at containing and controlling costs both short term and long term. >> that would lead to a deficit

over the course of ten years. here's the thing that people at home might not be able to figure out, congressman. they hear all the proponents of these bills and say it will save us money in the long run and the president says it will save us money and the speaker of the house and cut down costs, why have they got it so wrong? >> it's not that they've got it wrong. actually, that can happen if we do it right. as the cbo director indicated last week, this bill falls short of doing that and what we're saying is this is fundamental change that will affect all 300 million people in america and let's not rush it and let's slow down and get it right and ensure that the american people get the kind of health care that they need and they deserve. look, the president, i was at the white house in march for the national health care summit, he said at that time that he wanted to get health care reform done that year and we share that goal and i'm optimistic that we will get health care reform done this year. the american people want to slow

down and get it right and have time to read the bills that we're voting on. >> some people up there on capitol hill who aren't too happy with you, the congressional black caucus sent a letter to mrs. pelosi saying in recent days some within the democratic caucus have raised spurious claims that the cost of reforming health care in america is something our nation cannot afford. sent another letter to the house leadership and singling out the blue dogs, but, you know, i got the back story around all of it from the pr folks there who sent that letter and it was the blue dogs who were trying to slow walk this process. they're going to kill this process and ensure that middle class americans pay three times what members of congress do for their health care. is any of that true? >> my response is quite simple. again y go back to the cbo director who validated the blue dog concerns, our concerns that this bill falls short of

containing costs and that would also point to president obama. two or three days ago on cbs when he said the blue dogs rightfully have serious concerns about the need to do a better job in the house bill of containing costs. let me tell you that this is not a batual the white house, it's not a battle with the leadership, this is part of the legislatudggislative process an trying to be a constructive part of the legislature process and moving health care reform forward. >> do you think the president will get a bill and, if he does, when? >> i suspect that we will pass health care reform this year. it's not going to happen before the august break for several reasons, including the fact that mr. reid yesterday indicated that they will not bring a bill to the senate floor until september. whether it's august 1 or some time in september or october, look, this is complicated and very complex. we've been trying to do health care reform since harry truman.

harry truman, nixon, carter, clinton, they all failed tat because it is very complex and very complicated but to the president's credit, let me say that we are closer now to meaningful health care reform than we've ever been before. and i'm telling you that something this complex, something that affects all 300 million of us in america, a bill that's supposed to be about containing costs and, yet, we're still waiting on the cbo to give us the cost for the current house bill. it's like asking us to balance the budget when we don't know what the budget is. we need to slow down and we need time to read this and need time to find out exactly what it is costing and how much each of these cost cutting measures cost before we move in haste. >> good to talk to you this morning and we'll keep following this very important issue. >> real good, thank you. today is friday, pay day for many and some will be seeing more money in their paychecks because of a minimum wage hike that takes effect, but with

everything going on with the recession and things costing more, is this really a personal stimulus? 20 minutes past the hour.

21 minutes past the hour. the federal minimum wage goes up today. goes from $6.55 to $7.25 and that is the last hike in a three-year, three-tiered increase that was passed by congress back in 2007. but it's funny, we say it was passed in 2007 and a lot has changed since 2007, especially the economy. christine romans minding your business this morning. some people say you need a living wage and others say it hurts small businesses. >> if you work full time all year at the new wage you make $15,000 a year, the poverty line, almost, if you're trying

to support a family with two kids. so, 30 states giving minimum wage earners a raise today. 2.2 million workers directly that fall into that category and they're pretty happy about it, but many business owners are not. raphael doesn't want your grocery bill to go up, but he's worried that his customers might see higher prices soon. he has owned this shoprite in fayette, new jersey, since 2005. in that time he has seen minimum wage jump from 5.$5.15 to $7.25o meet the federal level. >> extra pay roll and it hurt. those extra pay roll transitions are handed over to the consumer. >> reporter: he has 40 to 50 minimum wage earners on his staff. his pay roll costs won't go up dramatically with the new wage hike, but his suppliers, they're going to get hit hard. >> all these companies all have

thousands and upon thousands of minimum-wage earners. they're cost increase it passes on to me and then it passes on to the consumer. >> reporter: but many consumers will have more money to spend, argue some economists and business owners will benefit. >> even if they have to raise their prices a little bit, they often, very often, almost always make up for that in increased business because workers now are able to spend more money that they have in their pockets. >> reporter: not all workers are getting a raise and others argue that in this economy employment will suffer. >> it will cost us lots of low-skilled jobs and simply employers will not be able to hire as many people and some will get laid off. those with jobs will have more money in their pockets and those that won't get hired won't have any at all. >> reporter: empty pockets is what concerns rafeal. >> the long-term effect of it is people who weren't making minimum wage poorer. millions of people didn't get a pay raise. >> big, big debate over the

long-term effect of raising minimum wage, will it help or hurt low-wage workers. 3% of hourly workers make minimum wage but boosting this pay leads to raise for other people who are making just above the minimum wage and lifts everybody and that that lifts consumer spending further. this debate doesn't go away especially when small businesses are so strapped. also raises the questions of people moving and working off the books in general. small businesses and sometimes people work off the books altogether because they don't want to deal with some of these restrictions and we have no way of quantifying how that is playing out here, too. >> you bring up a lot of good points and like people to weigh in, as well, on cnn.com/amfix. poor christine was out sick yesterday and i'm grabbing my emergency packet. >> i was talking for five days and decided to take the day off.

>> she was off playing golf yesterday. >> no, she would have a sunburn like you. here's a really bizarre law. in the state of rhode island you're allowed to strip under the age of 18, as long as it's inside. >> and as long as you are back home by 11:30 to attend school the next day. one of the state legislatures want to change that.

it is the ultimate invasion of privacy. espn sideline reporter erin andrews was secretly videotaped naked in her hotel and it didn't take long before it was posted all over the web. >> some bloggers nicknamed her because any mention of her was

instant traffic. carol costello live in washington with more on what people are saying on this story. >> we want it hear what you think. cnn.com/amfix because it's been fascinating to sit back and take into reaction what many call a horrific invasion of privacy. but elicit nude pictures taken of espn reporter erin andrews are more than that. many call it sexual assault and plenty of men who call it that, too. some of whom blame themselves for what happened. just saying, who is to blame for what happened to erin andrews. >> reporter: if you didn't know who erin andrews was, you do now. seems like everybody is talking about an uninvited videotaping of the espn reporter. >> she was the reporter that was secretly taped by a peeping tom in her hotel room. >> no idea that there's a perv at the door. >> nude video ended up on the internet. >> reporter: andrews' attorney

is threatening legal action if anyone continues to post the videos online, but a french website persists. andrews, it seems, has lost control over who has the right to her body. and her attorney wants whoever took the pictures to be criminally prosecuted, others say many more are guilty. just saying. who is to blame? >> i do think that we're all complicit in a culture that objectifies women, that is interested in seeing videos of women who don't know they're being filmed. >> reporter: if you think people aren't interested in that kind of thing, google says searches on erin andrews have gone up 5,000% in the last few days. the website sportsmedia watch isn't surprised for years a national stalking of andrews online by those who turned her into a body that exists for leering at. an inadvertent espn shot of andrews' behind got half a million hits on youtube.

andrews one of the premier sports reporter in the business, some say it stoked the fire, too, by playing up andrews' looks. some of those she interviewed, they didn't help either. and then there was this at a college football game. andrews dealt good naturedly with those who objectified her and while andrews is definitely the victim here, it is time she pushed back. >> play the victim to the mom and dad and 12-year-old on the couch, don't play victim to the frat house. do everything you can to make sure the whakos don't interfere in my life. >> reporter: >> a blogger from a site called dead spin which linked to the video last week put it this way. was i ever over the line? was coach bruce pearl when he hugged her? was espn when they realized that attractive women on the sideline helped ratings? did i contribute to this awful

thing that happened? did all of us? i don't think so, but if i ran init her on the street today i'm not sure i could look her in the eye. i'm not sure anyone could. this is from lynn in new york. she says is anyone reading between the lines on this? our society across the board is to blame. sex sells everything and plays 24/7 through every show and every commercial. the 12-year-old sitting on the couch at home with her parents doesn't stand a chance, unless society as a whole starts pushing back. this is from justin. he says the google numbers speak for themselves. she is up a reported 5,000%. if that doesn't speak for what a lot of america deems important, i don't know what is. we're always looking for the next scandal or celebrity news story with the internet, this is the monster we have created, i only pray it stops now. keep the comments coming. we'll read more in our 8:00 hour of "american morning." it's cnn.com/amfix.

cnn.com/amfix. we want to know what you think about this story. >> a couple other people wrote in and saying sorry this hapened to erin and this isn't the only case. someone else said, repulsive, tired of people who somehow tie this to how she dresses or appears in public is a crime or nothing less. >> kiran, online there's this whole trend of posting nude pictures of women online who don't know that these pictures are being taken. it's really disturbing. >> peeping tom in cyberspace, absolutely. carol, thanks. 32 minutes past the hour and tracking several developing stories this morning. police in indonesia said there was a third bomb set to go off a week ago when suicide bombers attacked a hotel in jakarta. the attack killed seven people and the third device was rigged to go off before the two bombers blew themselves off. a move intended to create extra chaos, they say.

actress angelina jolie is in baghdad, part of her role as a u.n. ambassador for refugees. speaking exclusively to cnn the time to act for iraqis is now. >> these countries years on have all these little problems because it was this moment that wasn't given enough attention. it was this moment that we didn't have enough support and that they didn't have the right education and, so, so this is the moment. >> jolie visited a makeshift village on the outskirts of baghdad where 20,000 iraqis still live because of sectarian violence. the world health organization says the global swine flu outbreak is still in its early stages and what we should expect that there would be around 2 billion cases over the course of the pandemic. they only confirmed 130,000 global cases of the h1n1 virus so far. there's a huge push this morning to close what some are saying is a shock legal loophole in rhode island.

while teens can't pump gas or climb ladders, nothing on the books keeping 16 and 17 year olds from stripping as long as they're home by 11:30 on school nights. authorities discovered this loophole during a police investigation a 16-year-old run away found working at a strip club in providence. joining me live is joann, she is working to change the law. thanks for being with us this morning. so, tell me -- >> thank you for having me. >> you heard about the case of the 16-year-old and how did this all come to the attention of police and legislatures? >> well, there was a newspaper article about a 16-year-old young gurl from boston who was found by local police and a rescue worker and she had told them she was stripping in a club and turns out she was 16 years old and, basically, they couldn't charge the perpetrators because there's no law.

banning minors from working in adult entertainment zones. >> one of the interesting things is that there are laws on the books regarding underage people working in general. the lieutenant governor said she was just jumping through hoops to get her 17-year-old to be able to be a camp counselor with the working papers it requires. how would this slip through the cracks? >> this slipped through the cracks. we also have another loop hole where prostitution indoors is illegal, which makes both these loopholes extremely disturbing and both need to be addressed. and in this next legislative session, when we go back from recess, i hope to introduce legislation to be in working in performances with life conduct. >> some say is it really needed, the law. meaning that it seems like there is a lot of problems and for this 16-year-old run away a lot of things went wrong before we even got to the point of her being stripping at this club.

she did produce an i.d. showing she was 20. even if there was law on the books, she would have found a way to get around it anyway. >> but the fact remains that the laws need to be in place and if there was one that's one too many and we are responsible to make sure the laws are there to protect our young women and our young men. >> and how far along are you on this legislation and also, as you said, there's this other odd loophole in your state that prostitution is illegal outdoors but legal indoors. are you trying to comdine both of those to toughen up the laws on the sex industry? >> no. the bill, the bill for the indoor prostitution passed the house overwhelmingly and it is stalled in the state senate. we are on recess right now. when we return in the next few weeks, i plan on introducing and trying to push through a separate bill, which would ban

minors from working in the adult entertainment zone and explicitly stripping or involve performances involving sexual p perconduct. >> back to the issue of the fact of this 16-year-old ended up in this unfortunate situation, ran away and being taken advantage of. there is there anything you are working toward to help support people and young people who find themselves in these situations? >> sure, we do. we have many organizations here to support and to help and many social service providers who are willing to help them. this young woman was brought here by a 40-year-old who allegedly has been working with prostitutes and he brought her here from boston. this certainly isn't something that we want to see happen to our young girls and all our young men. so, these are all issues that we are looking at here and we all have to work together to stop this industry. >> well, as i understand it,

you're getting support for your bill and heading back to a special session in a couple weeks and you hope to get it voted on then. thank you for joining us this morning out of providence this morning, we appreciate it. >> just amazing. strip under the age of 18 if you're home by 11:30 on a week night. how do these things ever happen? got to ask that. another thing you have to ask, what's going on in new jersey? you have mayors, state legislatures, rabbis all under arrest, money laundering, selling organs and this unbelievable tale of corruption happening in the garden state and deb feyerick here to unravel and deb feyerick here to unravel it all for you. y airways open... to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long.

new jersey, no stranger to dirty politics to say the least, but the latest crackdown on corruption is stunning there, even by jersey standards. more than 40 people were arrested yesterday. the allegations range from money laund tooering to the selling o organs. >> mind boggling to hear the police rattle everything off. deborah feyerick following all of this for us. new jersey has a history of

corruption, but this really takes the cake. >> this really takes the cake. the 44 people who were charged, the majority were politicians. this is staggering. in one case, a defendant selling kidneys and paying people $10,000 and turning around and selling those kidneys for $160,000. they caught a number of people who, allegedly, had no problem breaking the law. it began as an investigation into international money laundering allegedly by a handful of prominent new jersey rabbis with ties to israel. turned into a probe in new jersey as nearly 30 politicians and public official os, democrats and republicans, were rounded up in what prosecutors called the largest sweep of its kind. >> this case is not about politics, it is certainly not about religion. it is about crime, corruption, it is about arrogance, it is about a shocking betrayal of the public trust. >> the two cases are linked by a cooperating single witness posing as a real estate

developer, but, in fact, working for the governor says new jersey's top prosecutor. >> i don't donate, i invest in meetings in parking lots at restaurants and luncheonettes and diners and basement boiler rooms and bathrooms. and the politicians willingly put themselves up for sale. >> reporter: prosecutors say public official os, including mayors, deputy mayors, councilmen and a new jersey assemblyman took envelopes stuffed with thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for political favors. one of the most damaging statements allegedly made hoboken mayor who allegedly took $25,000 in bribes telling the phony developer he would become a priority. while "the people who are against us the whole way, they get ground into powder." prosecutor ed kaher has been working the case for ten years. >> corruption is not only pervasive, but become ingrained.

>> reporter: new jersey governor jon corzine criticized the election while asking one of his staff to step down after he was investigated, but not charged. >> this morning i ask for commissi commissioner to and he has agreed to resign. >> the same cooperating witness paying money to officials, the rabbis getting fees as much as 10% to launder tens of millions of dollars to their religious organizations and the cooperating witness had gotten caught up in his own scandal and that is why he was cooperating with the fed, but the politicians, each taking bribes independently. no conspiracy, just the way it goes. >> what a tangled web. >> deb, thanks so much. >> sure. we'll follow more on the michael jackson investigation. our drew griffin with a look inside a home michael jackson couldn't afford, it was the home he wanted but never got a chance

to buy. 44 minutes past the hour. y long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. itps mayen.to hreathetel dar all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid.

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good morning, new york city. cloudy, 67 degrees out there right now. looks like we have a bit of sun. later on today, isolated thunderstorms, muggy one with a high of 80 degrees. rob marciano tracking all your extreme weather across the country. storms in the mid-atlantic. rob? >> we do. a couple there and couple across the mid-atlantic and boston

especially, wind gusting to near 40 miles at the airport and warnings out for rhode island especially around warwick. this is on the move, area of low pressure here and here are the winds and the waves off the ocean and rain will be heavy for the next couple hours and will taper off during the afternoon hours. probably getting hit with a little thunderstorms there and this will roll out quickly and riptides an issue and the southeast, so, be aware of that if you're doing some swimming. as far as the highs today, going to be hot across the west. again, a threat for seeing thunderstorms across the western great lakes. chicago, included. be aware of that. wanted to show you this, couple nights ago we had a little northern light display. this is a cool website called spaceweather.com. there you go. the aurora boralis and, john, i would think you know exactly where that is. very cool shot there from a

couple nights ago. i assume being from canada you have seen the northern lights. >> absolutely. because the air is so clear and the guest who wrote a song about it. but, yeah, you do get some views in the night sky there, rob. no question about it. >> thanks, guys. >> rob is going to send you there so you can see it first hand. >> fond memories. well, still ahead, we'll follow the latest on the michael jackson investigation and drew griffin getting another inside look at a home that michael jackson wanted to use to change his life, to reinvent himself, never got a chance to buy it. 29 minutes past the hour. 

♪ beautiful shot this morning, las vegas, nevada, partly cloudy right now, it's 82 degrees. a little bit later, isolated thunderstorms in the forecast, 96 which is, you know, pretty cool actually for july in vegas. welcome back to the most news in the morning. we have new developments in the michael jackson investigation this morning. our special investigations unit found the jackson home -- or it was the home that jackson was hoping to buy. secret tunnels, 20-car garage, and our drew griffin got a chance to go inside. and jackson as we know had neverland, but was looking for a place perhaps wonderland. >> he supposedly came up with that name according to his real estate agent while saying he was really done with neverland in california. at this time, this was a couple of years ago, jackson was trying to really build a life in las vegas. and according to his real estate agent in las vegas, this is the

home that he was trying to raise his family in. >> reporter: it's the home michael jackson wanted but at the time even he couldn't afford. according to his las vegas realtor, this 10-acre walled estate was to be michael jackson's vegas wonderland. >> this is the only house i showed michael out of ten or a dozen where he came outside and he came outside with no umbrella, no mask on, just came out here with the kids to see the grounds of the property. through this here, we have apartments, it's about 1,000 square feet and the kids wanted to make this into the play room and michael loved that idea. >> reporter: instead he placed them in this lease home, it was not up to par, he says, but jackson was building a life in las vegas and also trying to build back his wealth. entertaining casino owners who were offering jackson deal after deal to make him stay. >> i know michael liked the idea

of being able to perform in one location night after night. he liked the fact the kids could have a place to call home and not move around since they're going everywhere with him. that was an idea that appealed to him. >> there was a couple secret tunnels here. >> reporter: it is filled with secret tunnels, leading to a gun range jackson wanted to turn into a music studio. a barber chair in the master bath, full gym, theater room, and a 20-car garage where he and his family could load into and out of cars out of view. >> what was he most interested in when he'd come into a house like this? >> michael's biggest concern was in my opinion was the safety of his children. >> reporter: jackson simply couldn't afford the $22 million to $25 million price tag. he says he believes the concert tour would have been michael jackson's pathway back to this house, a permanent show in las vegas, and a new retreat he would've called wonderland.

and karen, according to his realtor, jackson was also very interested in who his neighbors would be. he wanted not to visit them, but to make sure they were of his stature, and this home, which borders one of the princes of the sultan, and wayne newton fit that bill to a tee. because of the housing market collapse that $25 million to $22 million price tag is now down to about $16.5 million. >> so it's still on the market, huh? >> still on the market. they have potential buyers, it's a 10-acre walled estate and even the side house, the guest house is 3,500 square feet. there's a lot of room. >> i should say so. pretty neat that you were able to get inside and check that out. thanks for being with us. also, remember the nurse practitioner who said that michael jackson called her and begged her for a powerful drug to sleep. police just took her files on the pop star.

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couple minutes to the top of the hour. thanks for joining us. we're following a lot of stories this morning, we'll be breaking them down for you in the next 15 minutes. president obama's refusing to back down on the statement he made regarding the arrest of a prominent black harvard professor, also his friend, skip gates. we'll play you what the president is saying now and also we'll hear from the commissioner with an interview you'll see only on cnn. president obama's health care time line, it's a major speed bump. the democratic leader of the senate now saying getting a reform bill passed by the august recess can't be done. one of the blue dog democrats told us the same thing in the house, as well. we're live on capitol hill with the details today. across the nation, some workers will be getting a raise today, the minimum wage jumping from $6.55 to $7.20.

why are some worried that could translate into more layoffs? christine romans here minding your business. we begin this morning with new reaction just into cnn from cambridge police sergeant james crowley, he is the officer who arrested noted black scholar henry louis gates jr. at his own home. he was mistaken for a burglar, police were called, and tempers flared. on wednesday, president obama said cambridge police quote acted stupidly. now the latest reaction from the arresting officer, sergeant james crowley. >> i was a little surprised and disappointed that the president who didn't have all of the facts by his own admission then weighed in on the events of that night and made a comment that, you know, really offended not just officers in the cambridge police department but officers around the country.

>> reporter: sergeant james crowley sitting down with 7 news tonight reacting to president barack obama's comments about the day he arrested harvard professor henry gates and talking extensively for the first time what happens at the cambridge house. >> i asked him if he could step outside and speak with me and he said, no, i will not. what's this all about? and i said i'm sergeant crowley from the police department, i'm investigating a break in progress and he responded, why, because i'm a black man in america? in a very agitated tone. and i thought that was a little strange. >> reporter: sergeant crowley saying after getting a call about the break-in, he was just trying to protect gates as well as himself. >> there was a report that there was two individuals, i see one and it could be him, so where's the second person? or there's two people in the residence that he doesn't know are there. either way, i wasn't expecting his response which was that's none of your business. to me that's a strange response for somebody that has nothing to hide, is trying to cooperate

with the police. >> so did he come out and speak with you? >> i was leaving. as i reached the porch, i could -- i was aware that now he was following me because he was still yelling about racism and black men in america and he wasn't somebody to be messing with. >> reporter: sergeant crowley he warned gates he was acting disorderly, and when he didn't calm down, he arrested gates. the proesz fer wants an apology, but the sarjts says he will not set that precedent. he wants to let his story be heard. >> the amount of negative things were untrue that he was saying about me warranted a response and allow people to see that i'm not a monster or the bigot or racist that he has portrayed me to be. this is me. >> there you go. and our cnn's don lemon had a chance to speak with the commissioner who joins us live in boston. it was interesting to get these other perspectives about what the police officer is saying

happened. questions about whether we'll ever find out the whole story. >> yeah. and not only spoke to the police commissioner, kiran, i also spoke to sergeant crowley's brother for a long time last night who said his brother was just tired, he didn't want to do any more interviews because throughout this whole process he hadn't had any time to spend with his wife and his kids. but today, sergeant crowley is expected to be at a press conference along with other officers of the police union here, the association of superior officers, they're going to hold a press conference at noon and he is expected to speak. just developing now. i just hung up the phone about 10 minutes ago with professor gates' attorney who says they have been paying close attention to the news and they're concerned about this attitude, it appears, or this perception coming from the boston -- from the cambridge police department that somehow gates was acting

unruly and that this officer has somehow never done anything wrong. here's what they're saying. if it continues in this -- they want to work all of this out. they have not decided for sure if they're going to sue, they're just trying to consider that. that's one offer on the table. they say if it continues to play out this way, they will bring forward witnesses and other people who are here in the community who have had similar experiences with sergeant crowley, and that is coming from, again, charles ogletree, saying there are complex and different perspectives about this sergeant from the community. they have their own experiences with him and these witnesses are not afraid to come out. they say that sergeant crowley has been -- he's a native of cambridge, been with the department for a long time, so there's a lot of public record. and they would like to see this resolved and see some dialogue, but they say if people keep coming out and treating, they feel portraying gates as this bad character and the sergeant saintly, they intend to move forward, possibly with a lawsuit

or bring these witnesses forward. now, yesterday, when i spoke exclusively with the police commissioner he had very good opinion of sergeant crowley and spoke very highly of him. take a listen, kiran and john. >> i depend on sergeant crowley to make critical decisions within his department and i trust his judgment implicitly, he is a stellar officer, if you ask any officer in the department, they have high regard for him. >> they feel like the president's comments, they feel like the president's comments singled out the sergeant, singled out the officers in this department, and also police officers around the country. and they want the president to at least speak to them about it or at least try to make mends. and again, today at noon, another press conference, this time by the officers association, john and kiran. >> again, just to clarify. you're saying that gates' attorney was saying that they do have people who have told them

they've had similar incidences with sergeant crowley? >> yes, and i asked for specific incidences and if he could point us towards those folks, he said that will come out in due time and due process depending on how the police department reacting from here. where they decide to go from here, what they say in this press conference, whether or not they want dialogue instead of just sort of castigating professor gates. here's a quote, he said this is a teachable moment. and that is a quote. and he hopes the department sees it that way and not continue to polarize the community and the polarize the police department and the country they say. >> do you think those tapes are going to come out any time soon? >> the tapes -- they're trying to figure that out. the city supervisor also with police brass, the folks at 911, the 911 call and also the radio traffic because they're saying that gates can be heard -- overheard in the background on the radio traffic being out of control. i oppose that question -- to his

attorney you said you won't hear him being out of control, what you'll hear is someone very stern and serious and concerned about the way he was treated. he said he had not heard the tapes, but he thinks that's what you will hear on those tapes. and by the way, gates is on the phone with one of the resident supervisors, one of the maintenance guys and so the maintenance guy, it'll be interesting to hear what he overheard on the telephone, as well, kiran. >> talking about the jammed front door. d don lemon, thanks so much. we're going to continue the conversation with a resident scholar for aol black voices, and michael eric dyson. we're going to get them to weigh in on the latest developments. now to our developing story this morning, the sudden slow down on the health care reform. the delay from the senate he didn't want. and this is what he said about lawmakers dragging their feet. >> i don't want a delay just

because of politics. and i have to tell you sometimes delays in washington occur because people just don't want to do anything that they think might be controversial. >> brianna keilar is live on capitol hill with the very latest for us this morning. we've got the senate majority leader saying not going to happen by the recess, one of the blue dogs saying essentially the same thing. where does it all stand this morning? >> well, you heard president obama, john, say that he can deal with a temporary postponement here as long as lawmakers are working towards a consensus, and he really doesn't have a choice. as you mentioned in the senate, harry reid saying it's just not going to happen before congress leaves for its august recess here in a week or so. the senate finance committee where they're trying to find an agreement that can bring some of the votes from the centrists and

republicans. dealing with insurrection from these blue dogs that have concerns about the costs, how you're going to pay for this health care proposal, who have been able to delay at this point the process for days. i have to tell you though, john, house speaker nancy pelosi says she's still set on having a vote before the house leaves for its recess. >> it's one thing that we didn't ask congressman mike ross about today, but he has been asked about it whether or not she's got the votes to pass this in the house and he said, i don't think she does. so there's some dissension in the ranks there. in the meantime, the republicans doing everything they can to try to slow things down and get what they want in this bill. and they're bringing something back against the campaign against hillary care back in 1993, very interesting visual aid. >> the dreaded flow chart. the dreaded flow chart. and here it is, john, this is put together by republicans, it's supposed to represent the

house democrats' health care plan. and as you can see, it's a bit of a mess. and that's really the whole point here. this is something that republicans, house republicans have been taking to the house floor as much as possible. listen to this. >> this is what it looks like. now, anybody that thinks all of this bureaucracy is made to fix our health care system, i deg e disagree. >> this is the organizational chart of the health care plan the democrats are proposing. >> we're talking about a health care system that's going to have the good heart of the irs and the efficiency of the postal system. let's take a look at some of these different government agencies and how much do we really -- do we really want to trust them with our personal health care? >> reporter: now, democrats say this is a complete exaggeration that what they're really doing with their health care plan is streamlining the process and

taking out the bureaucracy of the health insurance company that you have to deal with. and for their part, john, they've put up -- they're floating their own chart to represent what they say house republicans are doing if we can take a look at that. it's got a lot of question marks on it. you can see here, they say this is -- this is their tongue in cheek retort because house republicans have not put out their own bill. >> they can't help but have fun in washington, can they? >> no, it's the dualing cha idu. 10 minutes after the hour. also new this morning, michael vick may return to professional football. according to espn, vick and roger gadell yesterday. they have agreed to reinstate vick if he is picked up by a team. he would also be suspended for the first four games of the 2009 system. he spent time in prison after

assisting in the killing of dogs that performed poorly in practice fights. super bowl champ and quarterback ben roethlisberger is flat out denying charges of rape. those charges being made in a civil suit by a nevada casino hostess. >> i did not sexually assault andrea mcnulty. saturday was the first that i learned of her accusations. her false and vicious allegations are an attack on my family and on me. i would never ever force myself on a woman. >> roethlisberger read the statement at the steelers' practice complex in pittsburgh. the 31-year-old casino hostess said he raped her in a hotel penthouse where roethlisberger was in vegas for a celebrity golf tournament last year. and mark burly was perfect, but white sox center fielder dwyane wise saved the day. right up there on the wall, and

there's the ball, it's the 18th perfect game in major league history. already had a no-hitter to his credit. after the game he got a phone call from the white sox' number one fan, president obama who said if i were you i'd take that center fielder out for a big steak dinner. >> yeah, saved it for him. but you know how hard it is to pitch a perfect game. 18 times, right? >> yeah, only 18 times. >> good job, even though i'm not a white sox fan. well, still ahead, the information keeps coming out, more sides of the story keep coming out over this controversy taking place in cambridge, massachusetts, between a sergeant and a harvard professor. we're going to have a debate about it. the president weighed in and now we're hearing from the sergeant himself refuting what henry gates said yesterday. we're going to be talking about it coming up.

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all right. sure, why not roll the dice one more time? >> thank you, mr. president. recently professor henry louis gates jr. was arrested at his home in cambridge, what does that incident say to you? and what does it say about race relations in america? >> no -- >> i think it's fair to say -- >> that is a complicated issue and i don't really vi any comments at this time because i wasn't there and i don't know all of the facts. >> the cambridge police acted stupidly. >> i couldn't save him! i couldn't save him! >> well, that's john stewart's take on, i guess, what he views as the fallout for president obama, landing himself in the middle of this controversy as we've been talking about the arrest of harvard professor henry louis gates. and here's what the president said again at the end of the news conference wednesday night

and what he told abc news about that reaction to his comments a day later. >> the cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home. >> i'm surprised by the controversy surrounding my statement because i think it was a pretty straightforward commentary that you probably don't need to handcuff a guy, a middle-aged man who uses a cane who is in his own home. >> well, here to continue the debate is boyce watkins, he's in syracuse this morning, we also have michael eric dyson, radio host and sociology professor at georgetown university. thanks to both of you for being with us this morning. >> thank you. >> also this morning, we had a chance for the first time to hear from sergeant crowley himself. the president also saying that he understands that crowley is a

quote outstanding police officer. did the president make a mistake by weighing in on this controversy? >> well, i would say that it's not necessarily good to start off by saying that skip gates is a friend, i'm probably biassed, i don't know all of the facts, but the department behaved stupidly. you know, that's just not a barack obama kind of statement to make. and i think that the president has to understand that he's launched an absolute verbal nuclear war strike on this little police department. and it only makes things worse. and i think that president obama realized what he did wrong, i'm a supporter of president obama, and i think that, you know, he made a mistake like all of us do. i think that, you know, one of the things i can say is i fight consistently against cases on racial profiling. that's something that i really believe in. but in this case, i just want to know all of the facts. i want to hear from sergeant crowley, skip gates, i want to hear from charles ogletree, i want to see the officer's record. i want us to do our research to

make sure we're not going to destroy the career of an innocent man. what that does is is undermines our ability to fight racial profiling across the country. >> michael, do you think there were premature statements made perhaps by the president and perhaps by others? >> well, no, i think in regard to president obama he was merely stating his opinion when asked a question at the close of a press conference. i still think he didn't call the police officer stupid. he said acting stupidly, as professor watkins just indicated, all of us make mistakes. i think in this case we have to see the legitimacy of the possibility he acted inappropriately. i think all people who are thinking rationally regardless of what actually happened since none of us were there, we don't know what transpired, when you arrest the middle-aged guy with a cane a distinguished professor in the home, you know that he was not breaking and entering, then from there, i think, that as the national organization for black law executive -- law enforcement executives at the

head of it, that should have ended the police contact there, he should've gone about his business and we should have no news. but this level, i still hold the police responsible for what happened subsequently. >> let's listen because our cnn affiliates there in boston, whdh reporter had a chance to speak to sergeant crowley who came out about it saying he felt the need to speak out about it because he felt his reputation was being impugned. let's see what he said about the incident. >> i asked him to step outside and speak with me and he said no, i will not. words to the effect of what's this all about? i said i'm sergeant crowley investigating a break in progress. and he responded why, because i'm a black man in america, i'm not a monster or the bigot or racist he has portrayed me to be. this is me. >> you know, we're hearing a little bit more from him. also apparently he was in charge of teaching racial sensitivity courses within the department. his actual department head, the

police commissioner speaks highly of him, says he trusts him implicitly. is this perhaps, maybe, a clash of egos more than it was about race, boys? >> well, it certainly looks like it could be a clash of egos. and honestly, with respect to professor gates who i think is a great scholar and a great man, you know, when he made his comment, in which he said that officer crowley should beg for his forgiveness and he might forgive him, that was not a good comment to make because what that does is that lends credibility to what officer crowley said that skip was saying inside the home, you don't know who you're messing with and things like that. the undertone of that kind of comment is to say, i'm a harvard professor, i'm very powerful and very wealthy, you shouldn't mess with me like that. i'm not here to say that that's what happened, i'm not here to say that skip gates broke the law or deserved to be arrested. but my question is, did the officer follow procedure? and unlike a lot of people, i

actually did a lot of homework on this. i talked to several other officers, black scholars, people across the board to get a sense of the big picture. one thing the public doesn't understand when an officer goes into a home in which he thinks there's a breaking and entering, even if the person proves they're the resident of the home, that doesn't mean the questions are over. because a lot of men break into their own homes in order to hurt their estranged wives. 1/3 of women in america are killed by their own husbands. this doesn't mean that's what's going on here, it does mean the officer had an obligation to do due diligence. i'm not saying he's innocent, i'm saying we need all of the facts before we can pass judgment on skip gates or this officer. i don't think we have all of the information. >> the thing is, this is the front page of many national newspapers. this is all over the website, people have an opinion either way, strong opinions, what does this say in the larger issue about race relations in america? >> well, i think professor watkins would agree here despite

this leaf, there's a bigger tree. the bigger tree is the racial profiling to which he has pointed. and when we talk about racial profiling, even if skip gates is found out to have said what sergeant crowley said he said, the reality is this, that in american culture, we have to have a harvard professor and a black president to leverage the authority of their esteem and their pedigree against the word of a white officer. imagine if he was not henry louis gates, but henry kissi kissinger, and a black sergeant arrested henry kissinger. i submit to you this would be an incredibly different position and as mr. watkins argued in his book what if george bush were a black man, what if henry gates was a white man, he would be treated differently. i think racial profiling is about the vicious stereotypes that stalk the collective imagination that feed and fuel outrageous behavior that ends up being unjust. at the end of the day, this has

struck a nerve in so many black americans because we realize no much how much we achieve, no matter how much degrees, no matter how much money in the bank, we are reduced to just another negro on the street. if professor gates felt that, certainly we thank god he has become the rosa parks of racial profiling because no more unlikely person imaginable could have been selected to this treatment than henry louis gates and he becomes a face for the problem that has stalked the rest of black america. >> boyce, i want to put this to you. you said your father for three decades was in law enforcement and a very different point of view about it. does this hurt the relationship that many departments are trying to build and trying to build in terms of trust with minorities? >> well, let's be clear. many police departments across the country do not have a lot of credibility when it comes to dealing with the black community and they earned that lack of credibility through egregious behavior in the past.

so that trust is going to take time to develop. but i will also agree that listening to my father, who has a lot of views that are very different from my own, you know, listening to him through the years talking to a lot of officers through the years helped me to humanize this issue because a lot of people don't see officers as human beings. they don't realize the fear that officers have to experience when confronting the most dangerous elements of our society every day. what i submit is that a dialogue that respects communication, and one that respects the humanity of both parties in which we realize that black men are also human, as well, will be more effective in helping us to achieve our goals. i honestly don't necessarily see this as the rosa parks sort of case, but i do think we need to continue this fight against racial profiling because it is a problem -- >> when white americans die at the same level as black americans and when white americans are harassed and haunted by the prospect that they will be arbitrarily subjected to police power, then i think when the shoe is on the other foot we begin to see. as long as for the most part

black and latino men are subject to this vicious sort of behavior, i don't think we've have parity. and i wish for that day. >> we are going to have to leave it there. i want to thank you both for a great discussion this morning on this issue. thanks. 25 minutes past the hour. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. wouldn't it be great if it were easy to spot the good guys ? you know, the guys who do a super job. introducing the superguarantee. go to superpages.com to find a business with the superguarantee.

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♪ welcome back to the most news in the morning. the federal minimum wage goes up today from $6.55 to $7.25. that's the last hike in the three-year plan passed back in 2007.

>> a lot's changed since then. now there's financial minds worrying this can lead to more job cuts having the opposite effect, unfortunately. >> and mostly, you know, when we talk to the small business owners, small business owners keep saying, this is the last time -- the last thing we need on our minds right now raising the minimum wage. 30 states are going to raise, 2.2 million people are going to get a higher minimum wage. they need the extra dime, 15 cents an hour over the past few years, but the question is, is this going to force some small business owners to have to lay people off? they're going to have to raise their wages? are you going to pass on higher costs, for example, we went to a shop where this owner of a shop right's very concerned, he's got 40 or 50 minimum-waged people, that this is going to be a rough time for that. and others who say it's the right thing to do. it's the right thing to do when you're talking about somebody who working a whole year at minimum wage makes only $15,000, it's the right thing to do to raise -- >> but with the margin

shrinking, how much more can they afford? >> they can't even afford what they're doing right now. some of the small businesses say they're operating on a slim margin, they can't afford it right now. they're concerned they'll have to use labor off the books, which is never good, there's no protections, it's not good for the business owner, not good for the people working. so do you always have this debate even in good times? now you're having it because it's a tough time. >> the stock market's going up, maybe that's a leading indicateder of things to come. >> green shoots. >> christine romans, thanks, christine. coming up in a half hour, tracking several stories this morning. police in indonesia said there was a third bomb when suicide bombers attacked hotels killing seven people. that bomb malfunctioned, saying it was rigged to go off before the two bombers killed themselves. also angelina jolie in baghdad, visiting people

displaced by war there. part as her role as u.s. ambassador to refugees. he said the time to act for iraqis is now. >> these countries years on have all of these little problems because it was this moment that wasn't given enough attention. it was this moment we didn't have enough support that they didn't have the right education and -- and so this is the moment. >> jolie visited a makeshift village on the outskirts of baghdad where around 20,000 iraqis still live because they can't return to their homes due to sectarian violence. the world health organization says the global swine flu outbreak is still in the early stages and we should expect around 2 billion cases over the course of the pandemic. they have only confirmed 130,000 global cases so far of the h1n1 swine flu virus. there are developments in the michael jackson investigation. court documents that now reveal that the doctor who was with michael jackson when he died, dr. conrad murray is the focus

of a manslaughter probe. one of the first people to come forward publicly with some concerns over michael jackson's drug use after he died was his former nurse cherilyn lee. she said michael begged her for a powerful sleep sedative. her medical records on jackson were just subpoenaed and cherilyn lee joins us from our los angeles bureau. thanks for joining us once again. >> thank you for having me. thank you. >> what did police communicate to you about where they are in this investigation and why they wanted to subpoena your records? >> well, i was contacted shortly after that i made a public announcement that -- about what happened with mr. jackson. the medication that he had asked me for. and the coroner's office and the police both contacted me shortly after and said, you know, by phone and said thank you that this really helping us with our investigation. and shortly after i was contacted again from the

coroner's office and, again, they had thanked me, but in july 3rd, i spoke to one of the person who worked for the coroner's office and she said, you know, i want to come by and just talk to you. and because we know what you have already stated, which is now want to see it in hard copies. i said, okay. >> were there any concerns that you were perhaps a target of the investigation or they were looking into whether you prescribed drugs to michael? did you ever feel as though they were trying to -- >> no, not at all. they were calling really thanking me. and on july 3rd when i spoke to someone from the office, we just want to meet with you and get a hard copy. it really helped us out with our investigation. and then last friday, i received a call because we didn't meet until july 3rd. and friday, she called and said, you know, i have to -- legally, you know, follow protocol and issue you a subpoena for the records. and i said fine. and she said, well, you can just fax me.

she e-mailed me the subpoena. i wasn't issued a subpoena, it was e-mailed to me. and then she said you could just fax me over the report. we have a dedicated fax line and just fax over the report. well, i'm very thorough in what i do, and i what i'll do is give you a hard copy because trying to fax this over is too much paperwork. i was just waiting. >> i want to ask you about the situation. i know you're not a suspect in this situation and they have to subpoena medical records. but you were one of the first people to bring up the possibility of diprivan or propofol, usually used in operating rooms to put a patient under. and there were time who said is she really serious about this? and now that you've learned they've taken bottles of propofol out of the room and the target of the investigation is perhaps dr. conrad murray and whether or not tlhere's any lins

to the use of this in his home. what is your reaction as this develops? >> well, that was my major concern when on father's day mr. jackson had given me a call. and expressed to me the symptoms he was having. i was really concerned, you know, at that point what was really happening with him. but i didn't hear from him, you know, i suggested at that time he go to the hospital. and then the day of his passing, you know, it became very, very -- i was just very troubled, very troubled. when they had to perform the first autopsy and said they could not find anything, then i became more and more concerned and spoke to my medical director who was also an attorney and said, you know, i think maybe i should come forward. so maybe -- and just to suggest they look for it. >> i'd like to get your reaction to this, this is part of the warrants filed by the district court in harris county saying investigators were looking for

quote items constituting the offense of manslaughter that tend the show dr. conrad murray committed the said criminal defense. what do you think happened? >> well, you know, that would just be my opinion and speculating, but, you know, it just saddens me because michael was so adamant about wanting this medication, which he thought was going to help him sleep well, which is not a sleep medication at all. and what i -- you know, it's just really hard to say. and i don't want to speculate. it just saddens me and i have a great, great concern as to what happened. >> you think that he was eventually finally got somebody to give him this medication? >> well, that's the thought i had, yes. >> all right. well, as we continue to find out more details, we still await the full occupation and those toxicology results. hopefully we'll learn more. cherilyn lee who treated michael jackson, registered nurse, thanks for joining us this

morning. >> thank you for having me. he mentored a camp, he's got an e-learning education program, launched a voter registration drive, and in his spare time he managed to sell 35 million cds and win five grammy awards, usher joining us exclusively coming up live in a few minutes, 36 minutes now after the hour. gentlemen, you booked your hotels on orbitz. well, the price went down, so you're all getting a check thanks. for the difference. except for you -- you didn't book with orbitz, so you're not getting a check. well, i think we've all learned a valuable lesson today. good day, gentlemen. thanks a lot. thank you. introducing hotel price assurance, where if another orbitz customer books the same hotel for less, we send you a check for the difference, automatically. some people like to pretend... a flood could never happen to them... and that their homeowners insurance...

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welcome back to the most news in the morning. so when your kids go off to college this fall, will they have everything that they need? yeah. you went to bed, bath, and beyond. what about health insurance? >> do they have the egg crate form for their dorm mattresses? >> this is the voice of experience. >> my daughter was there yesterday. >> you know what else you need? you need health coverage. a lot of young adults lose their coverage after they graduate college, some of them lose it before then. what do you do now? can you stay on mom and dad's policy? and if not, what do you do? some affordable options out there. >> the first thing to do is see if you can stay on mom and dad's plan. that is the best options.

25 states allow you but they have different age cutoffs, it could be 24, 25, or 26. new jersey has the highest age limit at 30. i have to tell you, the president's plan for health reform would set that age at 26 across the country. you can find out what your state requires at statehealthfactsonline.org. and if you're too old to qualify, you're going to have to get into the individual health insurance market and get an individual policy. usually this is really expensive, but the good news here is if you're young and in good health, it might not be as expensive as it usually is. you can compare prices at eheal ehealthinsurance,.com and also go to the website to look for companies that sell these policies, that's a great place to go for information. >> what if people want something temporary or emergency only. >> well, you can buy that too, all kinds of options. short-term health insurance offers you coverage for 6 to 12 months. let's say you lose a job and you want to be covered for the

interim, you can get coverage, it's pretty expensive and doesn't typically cover preexisting conditions. there's also catastrophic insurance coverage, this is if you get hit by a bus, this is a coverage you have if you don't have employer-provided coverage that has high deduckablck ducta usually does not cover doctor visits and prescriptions. and you have to have enough money to cover those deductibles. if you do need coverage between gigs or say you have no coverage and you just want to cover the worst-case scenario. >> i seem to remember in college we had a great health clinic at school. some schools do let you go there if you're a student. >> let's face it, you want to have ongoing coverage with the same doctor, that is the best -- the best solution for so many people. and if you're doing that, you're saying i'm a nurse practitioner maybe, you don't know who -- >> i like them. >> some schools have clinics that are free and others you have to use your health

insurance. >> all right. for those four years, it was great. thanks, gerri. meanwhile, we have a special guest joining us. usher. he is a fabulous, fabulous entertainer. but not only that, he's actually giving back, as well. and he's going to be talking to you about some of his projects. >> not talking music this morning, we're talking about service programs and mentoring young people. it's 42 minutes after the hour. r all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me brehete and it't a stoid. anun keepsy aiays en..rways. toelp me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long.

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and learn how to secure retirement income that won't go down -- guaranteed. call fidelity at... for details about guaranteed income for life, and change the way you think about your retirement savings. welcome back to the most news in the morning. for african-american women, breast cancer is a growing threat. according to research, there are 37% more likely than white women

to die from the disease. in this week's cnn heroes, we'll meet one person who is fighting to better the odds for all women. >> in 2004, i was diagnosed with breast cancer. initially there's shock, but i realized how blessed i was to have health insurance. it made me think about all of the women who didn't have health insurance. i wanted to make a difference in their lives. i'm andrea ivory and i'm fighting breast cancer in south florida one household at a time. the florida breast health initiative is an outreach organization, we're targeting working class people, we're going to make a difference and save some lives. we have a take it to the streets approach. we feel like little pixsies spreading breast cancer awareness. >> can i ask you a few questions? >> we target women that are 35 years or older and make appointments on the spot for a

free mammogram. >> i look forward to seeing you. i'll be there. >> bring in the mobile van into the neighborhood. it's one of the most important facets of the work we do. we provide a service that is so needed. i know i'm saving lives. >> they said it was free so come right over and get it. >> is the lady of the house at home? >> we're giving free mammograms on the 25th. that's easy. thank you so much. take care. >> i was saved from breast cancer to serve other women. every time i knock on the door, it's another opportunity to save a life. ♪ who's born to care this life was protected... ♪ seems you've always been right there ♪ this life was saved...

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and now a cnn exclusive. you know him as an award-winning musician, but there's another side to usher and he's here this morning to talk about something important to him. as his music. thank both for being with us this morning. usher, let's start with you. we'll be talking about this new look camp, which wraps up today in atlanta. what's the new look camp all about? >> well, new look camp is basically all about motivating our generation's next youth leader. and you know, through real world experiences teaching them about the business aspect of the sports and entertainment industry. a lot of kids look at television and say i want to be that entertainer, that personality, but don't necessarily know what it takes and, you know, if that's really what they want to do. it's all about hard work for two weeks, we mentor 130 kids this year, as you said, the finale of the camp is today at the

university. >> you teach them about the business side of sports and entertainment and also teach them a lot about public service, service programs, service campaigns, and you've got a big announcement to make today. what have you got? >> absolutely. finding a way artistically and through their athletic abilities to motivate them. to go back into their communities and make a difference. ultimately, every change that happens can be powered by service. the announcement that is to be made is a partnership that has been forged with the u.n. foundation, the united nations foundation for malaria prevention. it is the ability or the effort to raise money for nets for malaria prevention in africa. really excited about that. a lot of kids this year -- this year they actually pledged to raise $40,000, you know, basically nothing but nets is the organization where you pledge $1 for a net for a child in africa. so they pledged this year that they would raise $40,000 --

raise money for 40,000 nets in africa. which is, you know, which is really great. these kids from all across the nation are taking these concepts and ideas. and the u.n. is providing them with $500 to go back in their communities and to raise awareness about malaria in africa and also give them the opportunity to believe in themselves that they can go in and believe in something. >> the nets are about $10 apiece, so raising money would be about $400,000, which is a terrific amount of money. >> i wanted do bring one of our campers here today and talk about her experience at the camp. >> i was just about to ask. let me paint the background here, you're from new york city, you had a difficult childhood, that began when you were born to a mother who was in jail at the time. you're now a junior at the frank sinatra school of arts in new york city, you play basketball and volleyball, what did you learn in the last two weeks from this camp? >> i would say that i learned how -- whatever my field is to

use that to also give back to my community when i'll be successful in the future. >> and part of the deal that you come away with from the camp is you've got to create one of these service campaigns in your own neighborhood. are you ready to do that? you've got the necessary skills to do that? >> yeah, i think i learned everything that i needed to actually go through it. >> what's the first thing you do when you hit the ground here in new york city when you come back? >> i'll go to my community center and tell them everything that i learned from this camp experience. >> excellent. as we said, usher, what you're trying to do is give the kids the skills they need to try to succeed. but when you look at the current state of the economy, particularly the fact that you mentor a lot of minority kids there, and unemployment is running at about 15%, 5 points higher than the national average. does that make what you're doing

there that much more difficult? >> well, you know, you know, we have so many issues that plague us here in america. the one thing that i found is it can all be fixed for service. the power of service is incredible. and change has always been something that youth has been at the forefront of. so giving them this opportunity and, you know, knowledge, one is ultimately what our agenda is for the foundation. but more than anything as i said to make them understand the true value of service and giving back. >> now, you've got the new look foundation there also a program to help rebuild the gulf coast, you've got an e-learning education program, launched a voter registration drive last year. and i'm wondering, where did this desire to give back come from within you? you know, you're just 30 years old now, you're selling millions and millions -- >> young, by the way. >> i know it's young, compared to me it's awfully young, usher.

where did this desire to give back come from? >> well, as the founder and chair, i really wanted to be able to connect the power of service. and, you know, it's my one way to go where the kids are and give them that opportunity to make a difference in their communities. >> something in your background that really kind of drove this? >> well, i honestly feel like i've been blessed to be a blessing. that's one. but more than anything, as i said, giving them that voice because sometimes the youth gets looked over. and they don't understand -- or maybe sometimes we don't understand that as i said, they're at the forefront of change. you know, a lot of our issues here in america can be addressed by simply addressing them. >> right. >> and for instance, as a young lady who through service acknowledges homelessness. she takes pictures and she shows the issue. there's kids who have come far and wide who have philanthropic efforts in their communities to

truly make a difference. this gives them that platform to want to have a voice, but also understand how to utilize the power that they got. >> well, mentoring even one young child or one young person is a noble calling. and you've done it for more than 1,300. congratulations for completing the camp and we'll look forward the camp and we'll look forward to hear what you're doing with the service campaign. thank you so much for joining us. five minutes now till the top of the hour. d it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. wouldn't it be great if it were easy to spot the good guys ? you know, the guys who do a super job. introducing the superguarantee. go to superpages.com to find a business with the superguarantee. we're so confident in these super businesses we stand behind their services. you'll get the job done right or we'll step in and help to make it right.

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welcome back to the most news in the morning. espn reporter erin andrews is fighting back after someone secretly videotaped her naked in her hotel room. she and the sports network are promising legal action against the people responsible as well as any organization that actually shows that video. >> yeah, but this morning, some are questioning about whether it's much more than just one perverted peeping tom that's perpetuating all of this. carol costello "just saying" this morning. >> all right, guys, thank you so much. >> reporter: if you didn't know who erin andrews was, you do now. seems everybody is talking about an uninvited videotaping of the espn reporter. >> erin andrews was the reporter that was secretly taped by a peeping tom in her hotel room. >> no idea there's a perv at the door. >> and nude video ended up on the internet. >> reporter: andrews' attorney is threatening legal action if anyone continues to post the videos online. but a french website persists. andrews, it seems, has lost control over who has the rights

to her body. and while her attorney wants whoever took the pictures to be criminally prosecuted, others say many more are guilty. who is to blame? >> i do think we're all complicit in a culture that object mys women. >> reporter: and if you think people aren't interested in that kind of thing, google says searches on erin andrews have gone up 5,000% in the past few days. the blog sites isn't surprised. says for years there's been a national stalking of andrews online for those who turned her into a body. and an espn shot from andrews from behind got 1/2 million hits on youtube. and while they call her one of the premiere sports reporters in the business, some charge it stoked the fire too by playing up andrews' looks. and some of those who she